The WorldBlu Blog

Until recently, I knew very little about basketball. And only a month ago I learned who Phil Jackson was. However, in December when I was perusing the bookstore for a book to inspire my friend who is playing pro basketball in Europe, I found Phil Jackson’s book Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior and bought it.

Before I could even send it to my friend, I got the urge to read it myself, and I was completely inspired. Over and over again Phil Jackson (currently the coach of the LA Lakers for anyone who may not know) talked about the environment he creates for his players and how “what they liked most about the system was that it was democratic.” Instead of being a control-oholic coach as many are, Jackson takes a different tact, inspired largely by his study of Eastern and Native American principles.

The courage it takes for Jackson to apply a democratic system and leadership style to a sport dominated by egos and larger-than-life super-stars was incredibly inspiring to read about and the parallels to the world of business were numerous.

Here’s an excerpt where Jackson talks about creating a “group mind” that functioned on “oneness” instead of ego:

“I wanted to create a team in which selflessness – not the me-first mentality that had come to dominate professional basketball – was the primary driving force. My goal was to find a structure that would empower everybody on the team, not just the stars, and allow the players to grow as individuals as they surrendered themselves to the group effort . . . “ (p. 63)

Throughout the book Jackson also talks about:

• Distributing playing time more “democratically.”
• Recognizing that appropriate boundaries and limits actually create a “gateway to freedom.”
• Getting the players to think more for themselves and giving them confidence to make decisions on their own.
• Opening up the decision-making process to his players because “they’re right in the thick of the action and can pick up intuitively the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses.”
• Allowing the players the freedom to find out what worked and what didn’t and not bailing them out when things get treacherous.
• Creating a supportive environment in which players can be “free from constant scrutiny.”
• Cultivating an environment that helps the players realize their full potential.
• Engaging the players through inclusion and participation.

I was very inspired by Jackson’s observation that there is truly a oneness, or a one-mindedness, a sort of transcendent group potential that emerges on the court when a more democratic mind-set is used to coach and structure (as much as is possible) the course of the game. I think that is something that is not discussed enough – this oneness that democracy gives rise to.

I love Jackson’s approach, proving that organizational democracy is applicable in any arena – even in sports.